Friday, March 6, 2009

I don't know how I missed it, but there it was, sitting at the bottom of the white plastic bin where I store my potatoes and onions…a single russet. A single potato is never a good thing. Do you wait to buy more, and hope it blends in? Do you waste all that gas and heat, cooking one single potato? One of the few practical uses for these rogue spuds is to make a small batch of potato gnocchi.

Let me disclose right up front that I really don't like gnocchi that much. They're "Aight" as Randy Jackson might say, but I never go out of my way to eat them. However, I love to make them. This is an interesting recipe to make, and just about the most fun thing you can do with a single potato (assuming you lost your Mr. Potatohead parts long ago).

There is no such thing as an exact recipe for gnocchi. If you don’t like cooking by feel, and need exact measurements before attempting to cook something, this recipe is not for you. Potato sizes vary, the starch/water contents vary, how you cook it, and how much flour you add not only depends on the aforementioned factors, but also on the desired texture/density of the gnocchi.

I like a very potato'y gnocchi, so I go with just enough flour to form the dough. Other people prefer a denser, more pasta-like dumpling, and use much more flour. I know many of you hate it when I say this, but you'll just have to figure it out as you go. The good news is, figuring things out in the kitchen is fun. Enjoy!

Tech Note: I'm having a sound issue with the videos in Vimeo with the Mozo pre-roll at the beginning. I'll continue to work on it, but until I figure it out here is a low-res YouTube version to hold you over.

Here is the Vimeo version, and you can hear the sound distortion problem. They are working on this issue, and hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Ingredients:1 large russet potato1 egg1/2 to 3/4 cup flour depending on a wide array of factorssauce to cover

33 comments:

I've been making sweet potato (the light yellow kind) gnocchi a lot lately. At first I was doing it on the back of a fork, but then my friend was helping me look at her Italian (in Italian!) cookbook and they were doing it from the front of the fork. They rolled off easier for me. Maybe try that next time to see if you like it.Also I use just the yolk and some parmesan cheese.Luisa Vacaville

Haven't made this in a long time. I will pull out my ricer (that is what I use for the potato) and a very long time ago I purchased a wooden tool made just for making the ridges on gnocchi. I had to have it, it was so cute almost as cute as that little spoon you used way back when in one of your food videos.

Hey Chef how did you know I had two odd spuds sitting on my counter? Perfect! Thank You!!

Quick question--what is the best way to keep your wood sppons and stuff clean since they stain with tomato sauce etc? Bleach & sandpaper?? Regular soap and hot water--Or toss them--not worth it? My Le Crusette spatulas handles come off from teh silicone pads to clean and was just curious what you do. I use bleach and sandpaper but they never really ever stop staining.

We juts use soap and water, and sometimes a little bleach. Our spoons are pretty old and seem to be very dense which help prevent stains. You can also try mineral oil to possible help prevent absorption.

I feel the same way as you about gnocchi. My main problem with them is they're just too thick, and the main flavor I get when biting into them, even with a lot of sauce, is just the gnocchi, which is pretty plain and boring. This doesn't mean I don't like them, but if I was going to eat a pasta-like dumpling-akin dish, my first choice wouldn't be gnocchi! It's a good recipe though!

made these for dinner tonight: the texture was perfect, soft and fluffy but with some body. yum! served 1/2 tossed with brown sage butter and other 1/2 in marinara and parm. thanks! i kinda...love you...ahem...

I have been fiddling around with Gnocchi for a long time--( I even made a low carb variety-- really!) but I could never make one that satisfied me with potato. Until today. I just discovered Chef John and there are corns on my rear end from reviewing all his recipes.

Thank you so much for all this fun and food! These gnocchi were the best I ever made... num!

OK, Chef John is not joking around about this recipe, it is SUPER fantastic. The first time I made it was disappointing, but it wasn't the recipes fault, it was my kitchen plunder that fouled it up. However, the SECOND time I made these, they were scrumptious! To save time, I didn't roll the gnocchi off a fork, I lined the gnocchi up and gently pressed the fork into them. That method made them a little flatter, but it didn't matter, they were great :D

I have been making mine with prrobably about 1:1 ration of spud to flour, I keep playing with things to lighten up the feel for a soft light, pillow-y feel with the sauce. one thing I noticed is they almost always come up a lot lighter after being frozen and then thawed, not sure whats up, but multiple batches have confirmed. Is it a water loss thing you think?

I can't thank you enough for the gnocchi preparation technique and recipe via video and website. Historically, I made gnocchi only once before; it was all I needed to know that I did not like the big mess nor the gluey, thick, large dumplings that resulted. Once I saw your video and also enjoyed the humor embedded in it, I had to try gnocchi once more. Thanks to you, they were so easy to make and so much better than before. My children (ages 9 and 12) also helped me make them and seemed like they couldn't eat them fast enough; imagine my delight and their slight disappointment that we didn't make more of these gnocchi. My husband is looking forward to me making these for him in the near future; they'll definitely become part of our 2012 Valentine's Stay-at-Home Dinner. Thank you Again, Libby S.

Thanks so much for this recipe!!! I've tried making gnocchi before but they just didn't turn out very well. I definitely want to try your method though. I think maybe my problem was that other recipes I used called for boiling the potatoes. I think that added way too much moister and it just threw me off. I also like to add mine to creamy chicken soup. It's so great! Thanks again!!